1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of mounting hardware for window shades, curtains and the like, and is more particularly directed to a bracket for the adjustable mounting of window shade rollers.
2. State of the Prior Art
Roller mounted window shades have been in popular use for many years and are typically mounted to the casing of a window by means of brackets which are in turn secured to the wall by means of screws or the like. Many types of mounting brackets for such roller shades have been devised as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,031,898 to Woodworth, 1,338,591 to Richards, 1,230,778 to Ralston. The aforementioned disclosures teach brackets which are adjustable in order to facilitate the task of leveling the roller without requiring excessively careful measurement and placement of the brackets on the window casing or wall surface. The adjustable brackets of the aforementioned patents are all relatively complex and all incorporate several parts which are assembled to make each bracket.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,918 to Voigtlander and U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,261 to Bartels disclose universal bracket supports which provide a number of alternative positions at which a separate bracket portion may be affixed. The bracket portion in turn supports the end pin of a roller shade. Thus, multiple parts are required for a complete support bracket.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,581,805 to Kirsch discloses a combination curtain rod and window shade roller bracket which is a single piece bracket perforated with multiple openings each of which is adapted to receive the end pin of a shade roller. The position of the roller relative to the window casing may be adjusted by simply inserting the end pin into the desired opening. Additional openings are provided for receiving screws or equivalent fasteners by which the bracket is affixed to a wall or a window casing surface.
While the Kirsch bracket can be manufactured from a single sheet of material cut and bent to shape, unnecessary complexity remains in that the sheet of metal or other material must be bent along mutually perpendicular pairs of bend lines. Such requirements increase the complexity of the manufacturing process because an additional stamping or bending step is required to form such a bracket as compared to a bracket wherein all of the bend lines are mutually parallel.